SIRT2 induces the checkpoint kinase BubR1 to increase lifespan

Mice overexpressing the mitotic checkpoint kinase gene BubR1 live longer, whereas mice hypomorphic for BubR1 (BubR1^H/H) live shorter and show signs of accelerated aging. As wild‐type mice age, BubR1 levels decline in many tissues, a process that is proposed to underlie normal aging and age‐related diseases. Understanding why BubR1 declines with age and how to slow this process is therefore of considerable interest. The sirtuins (SIRT1‐7) are a family of NAD⁺‐dependent deacetylases that can delay age‐related diseases. Here, we show that the loss of BubR1 levels with age is due to a decline in NAD⁺ and the ability of SIRT2 to maintain lysine‐668 of BubR1 in a deacetylated state, which is counteracted by the acetyltransferase CBP. Overexpression of SIRT2 or treatment of mice with the NAD⁺ precursor nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) increases BubR1 abundance in vivo. Overexpression of SIRT2 in BubR1^H/H animals increases median lifespan, with a greater effect in male mice. Together, these data indicate that further exploration of the potential of SIRT2 and NAD⁺ to delay diseases of aging in mammals is warranted.     

Effects of Zinc on Particulate Methane Monooxygenase Activity and Structure

Particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) is a membrane-bound metalloenzyme that oxidizes methane to methanol in methanotrophic bacteria. Zinc is a known inhibitor of pMMO, but the details of zinc binding and the mechanism of inhibition are not understood. Metal binding and activity assays on membrane-bound pMMO from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) reveal that zinc inhibits pMMO at two sites that are distinct from the copper active site. The 2.6 Å resolution crystal structure of Methylocystis species strain Rockwell pMMO reveals two previously undetected bound lipids, and metal soaking experiments identify likely locations for the two zinc inhibition sites. The first is the crystallographic zinc site in the pmoC subunit, and zinc binding here leads to the ordering of 10 previously unobserved residues. A second zinc site is present on the cytoplasmic side of the pmoC subunit. Parallels between these results and zinc inhibition studies of several respiratory complexes suggest that zinc might inhibit proton transfer in pMMO.     

Structure of the ATP binding domain from the Archaeoglobus fulgidus Cu+-ATPase

The P-type ATPases translocate cations across membranes using the energy provided by ATP hydrolysis. CopA from Archaeoglobus fulgidus is a hyperthermophilic ATPase responsible for the cellular export of Cu+ and is a member of the heavy metal P1B-type ATPase subfamily, which includes the related Wilson and Menkes diseases proteins. The Cu+-ATPases are distinct from their P-type counter-parts in ion binding sequences, membrane topology, and the presence of cytoplasmic metal binding domains, suggesting that they employ alternate forms of regulation and novel mechanisms of ion transport. To gain insight into Cu+-ATPase function, the structure of the CopA ATP binding domain (ATPBD) was determined to 2.3 A resolution. Similar to other P-type ATPases, the ATPBD includes nucleotide binding (N-domain) and phosphorylation (P-domain) domains. The ATPBD adopts a closed conformation similar to the nucleotide-bound forms of the Ca2+-ATPase. The CopA ATPBD is much smaller and more compact, however, revealing the minimal elements required for ATP binding, hydrolysis, and enzyme phosphorylation. Structural comparisons to the AMP-PMP-bound form of the Escherichia coli K+-transporting Kdp-ATPase and to the Wilson disease protein N-domain indicate that the five conserved N-domain residues found in P1B-type ATPases, but not in the other families, most likely participate in ATP binding. By contrast, the P-domain includes several residues conserved among all P-type ATPases. Finally, the CopA ATPBD structure provides a basis for understanding the likely structural and functional effects of various mutations that lead to Wilson and Menkes diseases.     

Structure of the actuator domain from the Archaeoglobus fulgidus Cu(+)-ATPase

Copper homeostasis is maintained in part by membrane-bound P(1B)-type ATPases that are found in all organisms and drive the transport of this essential, yet toxic, metal ion across cellular membranes. CopA from Archaeoglobus fulgidus is a hyperthermophilic member of this ATPase subfamily and is homologous to the human Wilson and Menkes disease ATPases. To gain insight into Cu(+)-ATPase function, the structure of the CopA actuator domain (A-domain) was determined to 1.65 A resolution. The CopA A-domain functions to couple ATP hydrolysis in the ATP binding domain (ATPBD) with structural rearrangements of critical transmembrane segments. Its fold is quite similar to that of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA1) A-domain, with the exception of an external loop region. On the basis of sequence and structural comparisons, specific residues that probably interact with the CopA ATPBD have been identified. Comparisons to the Wilson and Menkes disease A-domains reveal the presence of an additional loop that may be associated with regulatory functions in eukaryotic Cu(+)-ATPases. Finally, several mutations in the Wilson and Menkes disease ATPases occur in the A-domain, and their likely effects on function can be inferred from the CopA A-domain structure.     

鄂西北丹江口库区大气氮沉降

利用雨量器在鄂西北丹江口库区连续3a采集降雨样品,研究了大气氮沉降的变化动态。结果表明:2009—2011年月均总氮(TN)浓度为3.70—10.36 mg/L,与当月降雨量呈极显著线性负相关(R=-0.592**,n=32),季均TN浓度为冬季(8.21 mg/L)春季(3.94 mg/L)秋季(3.23 mg/L)夏季(2.70 mg/L),年均TN浓度为3.70 mg/L。大气氮素年均干湿总沉降量为26.53 kg/hm2,其中干沉降为7.80 kg/hm2,占总沉降量的29.4%;湿沉降为18.73 kg/hm2,占总沉降量的70.6%。干沉降中铵态氮(NH+4-N)、硝态氮(NO-3-N)、可溶性有机氮(DON)和颗粒态氮(PN)分别占TN的22.1%、16.8%、37.2%和23.9%,湿沉降中它们分别为TN的36.6%、34.4%、12.9%和16.1%。     

羊草草地生长季放牧山羊采食量和食性选择

在松嫩平原羊草草地,通过控制放牧实验对山羊的时限采食量和食性选择进行了研究。结果表明：（1）5－9月份,山羊的时限（1h）采食量平均为0.42kg干物质,其季节动态为5月份最低,随季节推移不断增大,8月份达到最大,9月份又有所减小;时限采食量基本上随放牧率减小而增大,但在最低放牧率小区有所减小。（2）山羊的食性选择随季节推移和放牧率不同而变化。（3）山羊对20－25cm高度草层的选择性最高;各高度草层的食性选择指数随季节推移和放牧率不同而变化;山羊对不同植物的高度选择性存在差异,但高度选择指数的最大值都在15－30cm范围内。     

巴松措原生动物群落结构季节及垂直分布

为揭示我国西藏高原湖泊原生动物群落结构特征及垂直分布格局,于2017年11月及2018年5月和9月,在巴松措中心分7层设置采样点,利用25号浮游生物网采集原生动物。采用活体观察和固定染色相结合的方法,共鉴定到原生动物195种(其中春季86种,夏季93种,秋季80种),隶属于2门11纲24目43科59属。其中以肉鞭门种类较丰富,砂壳类纤毛虫占优势。垂直分布的物种组成和群落结构复杂表现为：表层>中层>底层,物种多样性、丰富度和优势度指数表现为：表层>中层>底层,均匀度指数大多数为1;季节分布的物种组成和群落结构群复杂程度表现为：夏季>春季>秋季,物种多样性、丰富度指数表现为：夏季>秋季>春季,优势度指数表现为：夏季>秋季>春季,均匀度指数表现为：秋季>春季>夏季;优势物种和群落结构都会随水深的增加而减少。总体呈现出物种多样性较低、均匀度较高,具有明显的时空异质性。     

Hydrolysis of [Leu]enkephalin by chick brain in vitro.

Using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection to measure substrate disappearance and metabolite accumulation following addition of [Leu]enkephalin to samples prepared from chick brain in vitro, the following were found: 1. [Leu]enkephalin hydrolysis by whole forebrain homogenates is almost solely attributable to aminopeptidase MII activity. 2. [Leu]enkephalin hydrolysis by whole forebrain P2 membrane fractions is attributable to both aminopeptidase MII and dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase activity. 3. Differences are apparent in both [Leu]enkephalin disappearance and Tyr-Gly-Gly accumulation in P2 membrane fractions, but not in homogenate fractions, prepared from several regions of the chick brain.     

Dentition of Bedouin in Israel. II. Morphology

Plaster casts of the dentition of 137 Bedouin, mostly members of the Abu Rabiya tribe in the Negev desert, were subjected to odontometric and morphologic analysis. They show a marked sexual dimorphism, very strongly developed maxillary and mandibular first molars and much reduced second molars. They exhibit the characteristics of middle-eastern populations with a rather weak expression of the shovel trait, upper premolars with relatively short BL diameters, a high prevalence of Carabelli's complex on the first maxillary molar and virtually complete absence of the protostylid. In general, the Bedouin have larger teeth than three other ethnic groups living in Israel whose dentitions have been recently investigated. Further similarities and differences are discussed.     

Cross-ethnic variation in dental, sensory and perceptual traits: a nonmetric multibivariate derivation of distances for ethnic groups and traits

The central concern of this paper is to illustrate how four apparently unrelated classes of variables — dental, perceptual, ethnic origin, and other — can be comprehended within a single parsimonious space, even though some of the measures were qualitative, others quantitative. Thirty-five hundred Israeli villagers of varied ethnic origin were examined on several aspects of oral epidemiology, a battery of tests relating to estimation of number, and miscellaneous traits, including eye colour, tasting PTC, tongue rolling, etc. Significant differences between the six Jewish groups — Yemen, Cochin, Kurdistan, Libya, Berber, and Djerba — were found in the scores of most variables. By the use of the Smallest Space Analysis, distances were established between the different ethnic groups which took into account the complex interrelations in each of 3,500 individual subjects of all 45 categories of 16 variables. A three-dimensional model of the interrelations between the ethnic groups and the trait categories was constructed from the 45 sets of coordinates which resulted from the iterative computer procedure. The ethnic group pairs at greatest distance from each other were found to be Kurdistan:Cochin, then Kurdistan:Djerba, followed by Djerba:Yemen. It is suggested that multivariate analyses of the type presented here, and including interrelations between genetic markers, anthropometric and behavioral variables, would deepen our understanding of the present structure and possible backgrounds of populations of diverse origins.